Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive with...
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Let's get into some exclusive questions...
STANDISH: Can you tell us about your new solo album that's coming 1/24?
Ahhhh yes, it'll be first all-instrumental album in nearly 30 years! My first album “The Adventures Of Bumblefoot” was released in 1995 on Shrapnel Records, the label that was home for many guitar instrumentalists. 'Adventures...' was an instrumental guitar album, all following albums were full of vocal songs. During the 2020 pandemic, there was all this unexpected time – time to do all the things we never made time for. I released two acoustic EPs, and finished an instrumental guitar song 'Planetary Lockdown' made from a riff that had been sitting unused for a year or two. After doing the song, I got the itch to do another fully instrumental album, and began writing. The fantastic Kyle Hughes played drums throughout, and a handful of special guests joined in. The album's been mixed and musically ready for release since June 2023, I've just been sooooo busy with Whom Gods Destroy and other bands I was working with that I couldn't move forward with the business preparations, music videos, transcribing the album, and so much more. I was deeply involved in doing all of this with other bands I was part of, and now that their albums are released, I'm working diligently on release preparations for the solo album. I'm pretty excited about getting the prep work done and releasing the first single as soon as possible...!
Posted some videos while working on the album....
STANDISH: Can you tell us how the band "WHOM GODS DESTROY" formed?
Sons Of Apollo started a European tour in early 2020 and then the pandemic hit. We cut the tour short, and were then home indefinitely. Derek Sherinian (SOA's keyboardist) and I began writing new music, and when realizing SOA wouldn't continue, the new Whom Gods Destroy band emerged with Dino Jelusick on vocals. Soon after, Yas Nomura joined on bass, Bruno Valverde on drums, and we released our debut album 'Insanium' in March 2024. It's progressive rock/metal like SOA was, a bit heavier, more intense.
youtu.be/8Ie77apU0RA - In The Name Of War (music video)
STANDISH: For 11 years now, you've had your own hot sauce business, "Bumblefoots Hot Sauce", can you tell us more?
Ahhhh yes! Been a fan of spicy food since an early age, people would get me hot sauces as gifts, I built up quite a collection! The time came where I wanted to start making my own. Iin 2012 the hot sauce company CaJohn's took me under their wing, and in 2013 launched Bumblefoot's Hot Sauces. I now have distro around the world, and love the hot sauce world, met so many wonderful people! Hot sauce is my other passion :)
STANDISH: We all get stressed sometimes. What are a few ways you enjoy relieving stress?
I'm a big fan of Stoic philosophy. It's been the best weapon for battling stress. I start each day reading about science and philosophy – it starts every day in the right direction. From there, hit the gym. Then all day being creative in the studio, that's where I feel the least stress. Then home, nice dinner, playing with Simon (my cat!), watching movies while taking care of more business and getting things done with Simon curled up on my lap, getting 8 hours of sleep each night, that all relieves stress. The main cause of stress is ourselves, our reactions to things. Work on your reactions, and you'll relieve stress. If you're too beaten down by problematic people, either find a way to deal with them or get them out of your life.
STANDISH: Outside of the music industry, what were your dreams as a child?
I started with music very young, just turning 6 years old, there wasn't much else before music. Since childhood, I've had a fascination and love of astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics – continually amazed by the vastness of existence, big & small... if not music it may have been something related to all of that.
STANDISH: What are a few of your biggest inspirations to continue everything you do today?
Inspiration is always around us, waiting for us to recognize it. Could be a street sign you pass on the road, an event in your life, something someone says, the style and mood another song puts you in, a new piece of musical equipment, building on ideas from someone you collaborate with, anything. For me it's mostly living life, the things that happen that make me want to share the experience, tell the story in a musical language... for as long as I have something to share, it'll continue ;)
STANDISH: Do you have any memories with fans that stick out from the rest?
Decades of them! One that always comes to mind... was about to play a big outdoor show in Rio, and the crew's bus broke down traveling there. The delay in getting the crew to the venue held up starting their work for two hours, and the promoter had to delay the time the public would be let in from 6pm to 6:30. Shortly before they opened doors, a huge storm hit. So big that sheets of metal from the roof were torn off and flying through the air, soon everything on stage collapsed, all the big metal framing for lights and sound system all came crashing down. Had the bus not broken down, and the setup delayed, and the doors delayed, everything would have fallen onto the audience. If there is 'divine intervention', that was it. The band never made it to the venue, we were still at the hotel. Soon hundreds of fans were outside the hotel, sitting on the steps, heartbroken about the show not happening. I went out there and spent hours with them, playing acoustic guitar and singing together.
STANDISH: You've put out many albums. Which one was your favorite and least favorite to work on? Why?
My favorite (so far) is 'Little Brother Is Watching'. When the album was nearly finished, I did a listening party at a venue in NYC with 100 people invited – after we'd we listen to each song, I recorded the crowd singing, chanting, foot stomping, and added it all into the recordings. There's a video showing some of it at youtu.be/m4G7IEglJJ0 :)
STANDISH: Have you ever had any time you've wanted to quit doing what you're doing? What gave you the drive to continue?
What I've realized is it's about making changes. Minimize exposure to draining people, or cut them out completely. Do more of what you love to do musically, less of the things that squash your spirit. The longer you stay in the wrong situation, the more it destroys you. Do the things that makes you feel lifted. For me it's producing, teaching, playing fundraising shows, things that help others.
STANDISH: What gave you the want to pick up and learn guitar?
I heard the newly-released KISS Alive! album when I was five years old, and immediately knew I wanted to do what they were doing. It didn't need to be guitar, it could be songwriting, playing any instrument, singing, engineering/producing, I just loved the idea of being part of the team that made music happen. I started a band and writing songs, making demos and playing live starting age 6, and never looked back...
STANDISH: How does it feel knowing you've inspired so many others to pursue music?
It's what keeps me going :) A lot of musicians go through burnout – it's the messages from people letting you know how your music helped them, that's what makes it all worthwhile. :)
STANDISH: What is one thing you would want aspiring musicians to know about while they also pursue their dreams?
There are sooooooo many things. Music is so much more than playing an instrument. Explore every task that leads to music hitting people's ears. Be diverse, multi-faceted, you'll find more than one aspect of the music world that you're passionate about. And when you develop different skills, share them with others. Prepare for your future, invest in a retirement account early, you'll be glad you did in your later years. Being 'on time' means be *early. Being 'prepared' means be *over-prepared. There are a lot of moving parts to any music machine, so many things can and do go wrong – train your mind to calmly go with the flow. Be open-minded to everyone's ideas. Stop and think before you react and speak. Try to have good experiences over all. And use a metronome.
STANDISH: What country do you dream of performing in?
When SOA had to abruptly end our European tour in early 2020 due to the pandemic, our next show would have been in Ukraine. I always wished we could have stayed for one more show, and played that show. Hopefully some day...
STANDISH: What are your social links?
@bumblefoot for FB, IG, YT, X & Threads
@BumblefootOfficial for TikTok
Bandcamp – bumblefoot.bandcamp.com
Spotify – open.spotify.com/artist/1KGFAcP7ovMYuoQuloDhOj
Website –
For BUMBLEFOOT's HOT SAUCE, please visit links at beacons.ai/BumblefootsHotSauce (there's FB/IG filters too!)
For WHOM GODS DESTROY, it's @WGDestroy for IG, FB, YT, TikTok, X & Threads
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